AROUND THE WORLD'S MARKETS: TOKYO

THE JAPANESE stock market failed to hold onto the key 18,000-point barrier after hitting it for the first time in nearly a month. The Nikkei- 225 closed up 32.17 points or 0.18 per cent at 17,892.26, down from a high of 18,082.47.

The market was pulled higher by a rally in issues newly included in the influential Morgan Stanley Capital International index. Toshiba, which was among the 30 firms, rallied 6.18 per cent in the heaviest trading volume on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. But the rally petered out.